The Charmed Sphere: Lost Continent, Book 1

Once Chime had been the most promising mage in the land, feted and celebrated for her potential and future role in the kingdom. Then Iris, her young competitor, made a stunning leap in skill and turned Chime's world upside down. Now no longer the most powerful, no longer promised to a prince - and still unable to harness her magic properly - Chime was set adrift. As was the new king's cousin - and former heir - Lord Muller.

Primary Inversion: A Novel of the Skolian Empire

The Skolian Empire rules a third of the civilized galaxy through its mastery of faster-than-light communication. But war with the rival empire of the Traders seems imminent, a war that can only lead to slavery for the Skolians or the destruction of both sides. Destructive skirmishes have already occurred. A desperate attempt must be made to avert total disaster.

The Mermaid's Sister

There is no cure for being who you truly are.… In a cottage high atop Llanfair Mountain, sixteen-year-old Clara lives with her sister, Maren, and guardian Auntie. By day, they gather herbs for Auntie's healing potions. By night, Auntie spins tales of faraway lands and wicked fairies. Clara's favorite story tells of three orphan infants—Clara, who was brought to Auntie by a stork; Maren, who arrived in a seashell; and their best friend, O'Neill, who was found beneath an apple tree. One day, Clara discovers shimmering scales just beneath her sister's skin.

Undercity

In the galaxy-spanning future, Major Bhaajan is a tough female P.I. who works the dangerous streets of Undercity. Major Bhaajan, a former military officer with Imperial Space Command, is now a hard-bitten P.I. with a load of baggage to deal with, and clients with woes sometimes personal, sometimes galaxy-shattering, and sometimes both. Bhaajan must sift through the shadows of dark and dangerous Undercity - the enormous capital of a vast star empire - to find answers.

Stolen Songbird

For five centuries, a witch's curse has bound the trolls to their city beneath the ruins of Forsaken Mountain. Time enough for their dark and nefarious magic to fade from human memory and into myth. But a prophesy has been spoken of a union with the power to set the trolls free, and when Ccile de Troyes is kidnapped and taken beneath the mountain, she learns there is far more to the myth of the trolls than she could have imagined.

Poison Study

About to be executed for murder, Yelena is offered an extraordinary reprieve. She'll eat the best meals, have rooms in the palace, and risk assassination by anyone trying to kill the Commander of Ixia. And so Yelena chooses to become a food taster.

A says:"Fantasy, with a touch of romance."

Publisher's Summary

Award-winning author Catherine Asaro, creator of The Skolian Empire, returns to the world of Aronsdale, a place rich with magic and power. One generation after war had nearly destroyed three nations, evil was returning. And only Mel Dawnfield's daring sacrifice could stop it….

The promise of peace rested on this young woman's noble vow: to marry Cobalt the Dark - heir to a family of legendary cruelty. With only her uncontrolled spells to guide her, isolated in Cobalt's solitary home in the Misted Cliffs, knowing poisoned blood ran through her husband's veins, Mel struggled to embrace her unexplored mage powers and unveil the light in her shadowy new world - including the radiance hidden in her husband's soul. For her enemies were gathering strength and they would soon unleash the darkest of evils in the name of war. In the final battle, Mel's ability to harness her magic would mean the difference between a harmonious world… and annihilation.

I'm slowly working my way through this series, in which certain people possess magical powers that are channeled through the geometric shapes around them. Each book is somewhat formulaic, but enjoyable, and I always find myself interested in the lives of the characters. The first few chapters always contain a lot of exposition, so that readers who missed the previous books will still be able to follow along.